MythTV on the New Apple TV

For years I have wished there was an App Store for the Apple TV. Like most people, I looked forward to things like games or streaming video content beyond the limited offerings bundled with previous version of the Apple TV. I also wanted something else: a MythTV Frontend.

MythTV is an open source project that helps you build your own digital video recorder (DVR). MythTV has a client/server architecture, called Frontend/Backend respectively. Ideally the Backend lives in a wiring closet or server room. A Frontend is attached to each television and plays content stored on the backend.

A MythTV Backend is fairly easy to set up with PC or Mac hardware and a networked television tuner such as HDHomeRun. A MythTV Frontend is more challenging to set up. It usually involves finding hardware that supports video decoding and has proper Linux support. You also need an IR receiver and a remote. Configuring the IR commands can be challenging. I used to tell people that MythTV is more of a hobby than a solution.

That all changed with the new Apple TV.

I received my Apple TV developer kit about six weeks prior to the launch of the New Apple TV. I immediately began building a MythTV application for tvOS. The MythTV Backend has a REST API that provides a great way to access content and data. Things went pretty smoothly and the MythTV app for tvOS was in the App Store on launch day.

Thanks to the New Apple TV and the MythTV app for tvOS, it is now much easier to set up a MythTV system. For the backend you can use MythBuntu, a special build of Ubuntu that has MythTV baked in. Or you can set up a MythTV Backend on a Mac using these instructions. They may seem a bit daunting, but are mostly just commands you can cut and paste into Terminal. You'll also need a HDHomeRun. You don't need one of the new models. Mine is a dual tuner unit that is about 10 years old, pictured above. The older models can be found on eBay for around $50. For the Frontend, just use buy a new Apple TV and install the MythTV app. Now you have a TiVo-like DVR system and you can watch your recordings from any TV in your house.


The MythTV app for tvOS currently has the following features:

• Recorded programs are listed and multiple episodes of the same show are grouped together. 
• Top Shelf integration: quickly find and launch a show from the Apple TV home screen.
• Scrubbing with snapshot thumbnails.
• Fast-forward supports several speeds.
• Watch content more quickly with 1.3x fast-forward (good for things like talk shows).
• Easily skip commercials with 30-second jump forward and 8-second jump back.
• Pick up where you left off. Playback progress is stored and synced across all your Apple TVs.
• Delete shows when you are done watching them.

One feature that is not yet ready is the Program Guide. Until this is done you can use MythWeb, a web interface that runs on the MythTV Backend. It allows you to browse listing and manage schedules and recording rules. This works out pretty well because once schedules are set up (TiVo calls them "season passes"), the Backend pretty much runs on autopilot and doesn't need much maintenance.

As more content becomes available from streaming sources, "cutting the cable" becomes more attractive. One of the remaining barriers is recording and "time-shifting" local broadcasts. MythTV and the MythTV app for Apple TV fill this gap.

Apple TV apps can't be viewed in a web browser, but you can see screenshots below.